Beauty is an earthly connection to the Divine. Therefore exposure to beauty can heal the eternal soul because God is ultimately the Divine physician.
In the 1980s, a women’s group, The Bangles, popularized a song about Manic Mondays. In the decades since that song blasted the airwaves, our society has only gotten more hectic and the rush to accomplish too much in too few hours a day has accelerated.
To counter this soul crushing reality of our society, I hope you will take a few minutes to enjoy the beauty I wish to highlight.
Art:
Today we look at the beautiful artwork of French painter, Victor Gabriel Gilbert (1847-1933). Gilbert was influenced by both art movements of Realism and Impressionism. His life in Paris was the environment in which he garnered inspiration for his artwork.
Above: The Young Flower Seller shows how two girls sell brightly colored flowers in the markets in Paris.
His painting, Children in a Poppy Field, depicts a charming scene of a girl creating a poppy crown for another. An adult and child linger behind while a church rises from the countryside in the background.
Snack in the Public Garden shows children sharing a snack of fruit and pastry on the benches in a public garden. Notice the basket of fruit under the bench. A girl lingers in the background on the upper left side of the painting.
A Poem
My heart leaps up (The Rainbow)
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
~William Wordsworth
Note Wordsworth’s conclusion that the child is the father of the Man. From this truth, we can conclude the purpose of education is to expose children to beauty so that even before the child becomes rational, he will be inclined to know truth and goodness when he reaches the rational stage. It is true that men are created in childhood.
Thanks for sharing the wise words and beautiful artwork.
Children should all enjoy beauty and love in a space of peace...once we introduce competition as a factor, things begin to get messy!